Hi, I’m Ariana, woodwind performer and instructor. Today, we’re talking about clarinet basics and now I’d like to talk about breathing. Breathing is an essential part to the clarinet, being a wind instrument.
You want to be filling your lungs all the way to the bottom. Most people on the regular basis breathe very shallowly. Most people breathe only up to here.
We want to breathe all the way down so that we have enough air to support the sound and to play long phrases. So, first off, you want to be sure that your shoulders are not moving. If you’re breathing in and your shoulders are moving up, you’re pinching up your lungs and not allowing enough air in, so relax the shoulders. You want to breathe all the way in, your diaphragm will expand.
A good way to know if you’re breathing properly is to lie on the ground and place a few books on top of your stomach. As you breathe in, the books will rise and as you breathe out, the books will fall.
And now I’d like to show you how to hold the instrument and get ready to play. So, first of, it doesn’t quite hold it, what you need to do with this reed is you need to wet it, in order for it to vibrate correctly against the mouthpiece, the cane needs to be wet.
So, wet as shown, put on the mouthpiece and you want it to line up, so its flushed with the top of the mouthpiece and square with the sides, then you bring the ligature down just under the cut of the bark and tighten it on. So, you’re ready to go. Next, you want to sit up straight, nice arched back and chin almost parallel to the floor to allow the airways to be open. Next, you bring the clarinet to you at a slight angle, not out like this, not too far in like that. So, wherever it’s comfortable for your teeth and just get your teeth, about a quarter of an inch on, get your lower lips curled over your bottom teeth and you are ready to go. Next I would like to talk about how to blow through the instrument.
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